Feeding

Bailey had her swallow study and she does continue to aspirate. In a normal swallow as food reaches the back of the throat the airway is closed off to prevent liquids or food from entering the airway. When Bailey attempts to feed she does not adequately close off her airway to protect against ingested food. She is also a silent aspirator. We have all experienced things going "down the wrong pipe" and know that a coughing fit follows. As a silent aspirator Bailey does not have this protective cough response. Instead if she were fed orally at this time she would be at high risk for respiratory complications secondary to this aspiration such as pneumonia. One of the things that can be done to prevent this is thickening liquids so that they are less likely to "go down the wrong tube." Other strategies including how she is positioned during feeding can also help. She has been referred to feeding therapy and will start in the next couple of weeks. For now she will continue to need to be fed through the G-tube.